Artemis Fowl and the Goddess of Night
by Silyah246
Summary: 6 Months after The Time Paradox, Artemis is being Marked by a vampyre tracker and is obligated to go to the Dublin's House of Night. (I will thouroughly edit this fanfic and make a few changes here and there, but know that I will post new chapters in the future.)
1. Preface

**Artemis Fowl and the Goddess of Night**

**_Preface_**

**Back from the Christmas Vacations, After The Time Paradox**

Saint Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen, also known as Artemis Fowl's private torture chamber... Seated at his usual desk in the second row, Artemis was waiting for his new teacher to arrive. It was his first real day in grade ten and he was sure it would be the professor's last one…

Concentrated in some complex thoughts, he barely noticed when someone stopped at his desk. "Artemis Fowl," started the stranger.

Then, Artemis raised his head. His first reflection was: _how can somebody dressed like this could have possibly passed the front gate?_ The man was wearing a baggy jacket and his hood was up, hidding some weird tattoos on his forehead. His next words struck Artemis, and he knew his life would change.


	2. Introduction, Fledgling Vampyre

**Introduction, Fledgling Vampyre**

"Artemis Fowl! Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!" The vampyre tracker touched Artemis's forehead, where a pulsing pain exploded. "You are now requested to move to the Dublin House of Night as soon as possible, where you will learn to be a vampyre, or reject the change and die." He continued, "You have less than a day to prepare yourself; you must be within the school grounds and near adult vampyres tonight. Saint Bartleby has been aware of your departure."

Artemis got up and searched his pockets to take his cellphone. By chance, the number he seeked for was in memory. He only had to press one button – and only that little movement had made his head spin. With a stronger voice than he thought and only after one ring he managed to say:

"Butler, I got a problem, I need you to come here." That was the last thing he said before collapsing at the trackers feet…

* * *

It has been a bizare experience for the young Irish boy... He felt his soul slowly slidding away from his body and soon he saw nothing but obscurity. The darkness around him started to evaporate when he heard a sweet voice floating above him… "Arty…" Artemis raised his head to see a beautiful woman with fair skin and long, thick hair, as black has night. Her features were so unique, so undescribable. The boy got up, trying to figure out who the mysterious woman was. She had a moon cresent on her forehead, so she had something to do with vampyres... And Artemis had felt his soul quit his body... He deducted that he must have been in the Otherworld.

Putting two and two togheter, Artemis went to the conclusion that the woman was the vampyre Goddess. Being himself named after a goddess, he scanned through his mental list of mythical names to find the closest person he could come up with. Nyx… The personification of Night.

"You must be Nyx." He said calmly, without hesitation.

"I am known by many of my faces throughout the world, but for fledglings, just like you, and vampyres, my name is Nyx." She paused, smiling a breathtaking smile and went on. "You are very clever son, and special too. I can sense something magical about you Arty," As she spoke, Artemis noticed with something close amusement that her words were visible in the air, taking the form of what could look like silver vapor.

"Have I rejected the change?" The boy asked the first question that came to his mind.

"Do not worry my son, you are far from being dead. I brought you here to deliver you a special message I saw in a vision. Even if I was slightly puzzled about it, I felt deep within me that you must know and that you needed to see me to understand the gravity of the situation," At that point, Artemis was sure the message had something to do with his relationship with the People. "Are you ready to hear it son?"

"Yes I am…" Artemis said while wondering when he could catch a break in the whole "I am saving the world situation".

_"Ultimate powers, _

_A poisonous,_

_A precious stone…_

_Beware the false Goddess." _

When she spoke again her voice was starting to fade, as well as Artemis's vision. "You are wise, but remember, ___darkness does not always equate to evil__, just as light does not always bring good_." As she said those last words, Artemis felt her hand tracing the new sapphire outlined moon cresent on his forehead. And there was no more pain.

And there was nothing else.


	3. Chapter One, New

**Chapter One, New**

"Butler, please tell me he is alright," said a voice that seemed to come from Artemis's fairy communicator. Holly, he guessed through a foggy mind. His bodyguard anwsered after one minute of careful inspection, "I still don't know Holly, his vitals are good but he is still unconsious. And he also has a weird sapphire moon cresent on his forehead…"

Artemis's senses started to come back one by one. He could smell and hear and then he could feel the soft pillows of his bed under his head... When he opened his eyes, he was effectively in his is bedroom, lying on his bed. "Butler," he said.

Suddenly, two voices, Butler and Holly's, spoke his name at the same time.

"I was so worried about you!" Said Holly.

"I am fine, Holly… I assume…" Artemis's voice sounded normal even if he had just woken up from some sort of comatic state.

"Tell me what happened Artemis," asked Butler. "And what is that tattoo on your forehead?"

"It is a long story and I don't think I feel like repeating myself, old friend. Mother and Father are on their way, I guess."

"Yes Artemis, they told me that they had been called by someone as soon as that, eh, incident occcured."

A few minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Fowl had joined their older son.

"Arty!" Cried Angeline Fowl, "We came as soon as the House of Night called us."

"The House of Night?" Wondered Butler.

"Indeed, old friend, I am now a vampyre fledgling," answered Artemis, half intrigated, half solemn. "Very few people know that vampyre exists. They have been very discrete and they have been tying to blend in with the human society."

Everyone's confused eyes turned on him and he also knew that Holly had a "_wait a second, Mud Boy_" look on her face. "I was very interested in _mythical creatures_ recently," he simply explained. He knew that the situation would be way simpler if his father knew about the People.

At this moment, Myles and Beckett entered the room and Artemis tried to sit at the edge of his bed.

"Is Arty simpletoon okay?" asked Beckett.

"He looks weird with that," added Myles pointing to Artemis's Mark.

"I am well," the oldest of the Fowl boys answered, touching the blue moon cresent in the middle of his large forehead. "But I will need to leave our home and go to the House of Night as soon as possible. Or else I might die." Angeline let out a little gasp while the twins said with a horrified expression:

"We don't want you to die!"

"Neither do we," said Artemis Fowl Senior softly, wraping his arm around his wife's shoulders.

Artemis had left out the part when he met the Goddess…

"I need some time, all by myself," he proclaimed.

Angeline hugged her son and left the room along with everybody else.

Then, the young Irish boy took his fairy communicator; he needed Holly… "What am I going to be now?" He asked his fairy friend.

* * *

At 7:30 P.M., Artemis Fowl, newly Marked vampyre fledgling, made his arrival at the Dublin House of Night.

The House of Night itself was a series of castle like buildings. It almost reminded Artemis of his own manor.

He had been accompanied by all of his family while visiting the main building, guided by the school's High Priestress.

As soon as the group had passed the big antique looking doors, she had introduced herself.

"Welcome to the Fowl family!" She said with a smile. "Merry meet Artemis, my name is Zahra, I am the High Priestress, or principal, of the Dublin House of Night."

Artemis offered her his hand, but instead of shaking it, she grabbed his forearm. "It is the vampyre version of an handshake," Zahra explained.

"I am glad to know. I am Artemis Fowl the Second, but I think you know that." Zahra laughed timidly and presented herself to everyone, including Myles and Beckett.

Zahra was beautiful, just as all the other vampyres. She had long brown hair and her eyes were somewhere between blue and green, like an exotic sea. The moon cresent on her forehead was filled in and fantasist celtic patterns were adding to it. On her black dress was a small insigna representing the Goddess cupping a moon cresent in her hands.

"I suppose that this emblem is representing your rank," pointed out Artemis.

"Yes, you will have one on your uniform too. Your's will be a third former's, it represents the Goddess's labyrith. You will know everything you need to know with this…" Zahra passed near an office to get something and handed it to Artemis. It was a big manual called _The Fledgling Handbook 101_.

That is when she noticed _it_. "Artemis, have you looked at your Mark since you got it?"

"No, why?"

"Your moon cresent is filled in, just like an adult vampyre's…" Zahra furrowed her brows for a split second, but immediately went back to a gentle smile. "Wow… I thought the Tulsa case was unique…"

She gave Artemis a pocket mirror so he could check his Mark when Butler entered in the conversation.

"Miss Zahra?" She look at him compassionately, she was one of the few people who did not flinch when seeing the enormous manservant. Maybe immortality was to blame… "You must understand that I am Artemis's bodyguard since his birth…" he started.

"Do not worry, since the Dublin House of Night is more anonymous than the others, human visitors are allowed regularly, as long as they are not coming during day time; vampyre's days and nights are inverted."

Angeline sighed of relief. She just had her son back and she did not want to loose him once again.

"Now if you don't mind, you will need to say goodbye to Artemis, the classes are starting in twenty minutes and I still need to show him where are is belongings."

After his family's departure, Artemis breathed deeply and prepared himself to face his new life.


	4. Chapter Two, Whispers

**Chapter 2, Whispers**

"You might be a bit late for your first class today, but I think you will keep up pretty easily," Zahra told Artemis after showing him the dorm. The shadow of a smile appeared on his face when he learned that he would not be obligated to have a roomate… And of course he had been pleased to see that his room was the most prestigious one of the dorm.

The High Priestess and the fledgling were now in the teacher's cafeteria, seated on a bistro table on a small balcony.

"Every student here has the opportunity to restart their lifes," continued Zahra. "You also have the choice to change your name right now, or to keep yours."

For a boy who had been laughed at for years because of his "girl name," Artemis had every reason to change it, but after the Spiro episode, he was proud to be Artemis Fowl. Artemis the hunter… Quite a good and ironic name for a vampyre.

"I will keep my name," he said with a firm voice.

"Then, Artemis Fowl II, I will be pleased to be your mentor for as long as you stay at the House of Night. I promise you to guide you through your change and to keep you safe here."

She offered him her arm for a vampyre styled handshake and smiled kindly.

"Welcome to the House of Night… And a few more things before I let you go, here is your schedule. You will need to choose the classes you want to take and stick with them for the year. There is also a plan of the building attatched to it and your uniform must be in your room by now."

"And what about my… unusual tattoo?"

"We can't do much about it, exept maybe cover it with concealer if you really feel uncomfortable… If you are okay about it then you can leave it like that," Zahra got up and lead Artemis to the dorm.

When Artemis arrived in his room - appartment would probabily be the right word, - he saw that most of his belongings were already there. In a joyfull moment, he opened his huge wardrobe to discover all of his Armani suits and shoes. Beside his own clothes, were a few uniforms. They were all black and customized to Artemis's tastes. Embroided on the breats pockets of every one of them, was an insignia representing a labyrinth, Nyx's path. Choosing a random uniform, Artemis changed himself and began his day, or his night…

By chance his schedule was full of options. For the sports, Artemis got the opportunity to choose Equestrian Studies and instead of drama, where he would had been obligated to socialised he took Visual Arts. All the other classes were about vampyres and the Change, just like Vampyre Sociology, Artemis's first lesson in his new world.

The first half of the night felt awkward to Artemis. He had a hard time not to be the teacher's corrector. Everything was new to him, even though he had the ability to learn at an incomparable speed. There was also the fact that all the other fledglings were whispering about his filled in Mark.

After his second class, Vamp Literature, lunchtime arrived. The young Irish boy was a little reluctant to go in the cafeteria. He was particularly concerned about the food, or more precisely the drinks… Not to mention that everyone was accustomed to there little group so all the tables were expected to be full. He reached for the massive door handle and with surprise discovered a high-tech and expensive looking cafeteria. And there, he found it. One empty table near the left corner of the room! He hurried up to take one tray of sea food which, hopefully, contained caviar and settled at the empty table.

Of course he should have known that it was too good to be true… A shy looking girl came to sit in front of him. "You spotted my quiet place as I see," she said. "Well for now I don't mind sharing my table but you gotta be silent 'cause I'm reading a really good book. Oh, by the way, my name is Diana… Yeah, like the Roman goddess of hunt." She grinned.

Artemis gritted his teeth but in a delightful moment, he noticed the author of the girl's book. Violet Stirblu. His own invention.

"I am Artemis Fowl," he said.

"I hope you enjoy irony," Giggled Diana.

"You would not believe how much," Artemis replied in a formal tone.

"So... You are the new student with the weird Mark?"

Artemis gave her a "oh, you are so observant" look and her gaze went down to her plate and her book.

"I'm sorry… I thought..." She tried to apologize for the indiscretion. "It's just that you are not the only one… And the other one who got a Mark like that now has a full vampyre tattoo and well… She is full of tattoos; her neck, her back, her arms…" explained Diana before adding, "Anyway. Welcome at the Dublin House of Night."

Artemis nodded and that was it for his daily socialisation. Noon, or midnight hour passed smoothly and it was soon time for his third class, Equistrian Studies. Artemis had been pleased to find out that one of his horses got transferred along with him.

After his last class, Visual art, where he blew the vamp teacher away with his reproduction of the impressionism painting of The Fairy Thief, Artemis ate a quick dinner at the cafeteria and locked himself in his room. As he walked into the bathroom to take a shower, he noticed two things. First, there was a small jar of concealer on the sink with a note attatched to it.

_"To go out of the school grounds, every fledgling must hide their Marks with this special concealer." _

The second thing he noticed was his shower. It was a Vichy one! It was noting compared to the bathroom of the Fowl Manor but for now, Artemis was sure he could enjoy a calm moment. While relaxing in his new shower, Artemis thought about the enigma Nyx had given him. He had a feeling that his knowledge of the People would help him figure it out. Especially the "Poisonous, Precious Stone" part.

Artemis already knew whom those words were refering to: Opal Koboi. He was absolutely sure of that.

Putting on a comfortable outfit, Artemis went down in the dorm. There were only a few fledglings watching television and hanging around the room. Suddenly a voice burst through the intercom:

"All fledglings and vampyres are asked to go in the auditorium for a special assembly, I repeat, all fledglings and vampyres are requested to go to the auditorium."

Following everyone, Artemis ended up in the auditorium where he took a place in the back row. Zahra was at the front of the room, standing on a stage. Her powerful voice was filled of sadness and disbelief.

"Dear fledglings and professors, I am beholding a terrible news, Shekinah our High Priestress to all, passed away. The causes of her death are not determined yet but we know that she was at the Tulsa House of Night in Oklahoma. One thing is for sure, it was not a natural death…"

Zahra was still talking when Artemis's fairy communicator emitted a small noise. To not look like an idiot talking to himself, he pretended to chew his nail to answer Holly – who else could it be?

"Hello," he whispered.

"Hi Arty, I heard you are know a member of the ninth family… Oh well… I guess it had to happen. But be careful, your new world might fall apart…" the cold voice murmured in a sinister way. It was fairy indeed, but it was not Holly.


	5. Chapter Three, Complications

**Chapter Three, Complications**

Artemis "hung up" his fairy communicator and centered himself, catching up with Zahra's assembly.

"… and I know that this school needs a High Priestress and that if it wasn't from all this drama I would never leave you guys, but the Council offered me Shekinah's place… Prof Villianna will take care of the school during my trip to Italy. I will leave in three days so if you have to talk to me personally I will be available."

It seemed like everything was going too fast to be true. Artemis's transformation, then the High Priestress's murder… Not to mention the strange, chilling call. And in the boy's head, almost all of it was linked to the same pixie.

"Nothing is official yet and there are two other possible candidate, the High Priestresses of France and of Canada's House of Night… Remember that tomorrow, there will be a ritual held for Shekinah and that everyone is welcome. So, I think everything has been said, you may all depart and go on with your activities…"

Artemis followed the group to the dorm and shortly, was in his room. It was about 8:45 AM, a perfect time to call Holly… After two rings, she answered. "Hi, Mud Boy," She said in a friendly tone. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Holly, but I am so new to this world… I think it's the first time in my life I feel this way, that I am not one step ahead of everyone..."

"I don't really know what I can tell you… One of my best human friends is turning into a vampyre…" Holly sighed.

"A member of the ninth family."

Even though she knew that Artemis could not see her, she raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"Holly I have something really important to tell you –"

"Wait a second, I got a message."

A few second later Holly was back on line. "Oh, Artemis!" She said in a horrified tone. And then at the exact same time, they both said, "Opal Koboi escaped."

Artemis hurried to explain his statement, "She gave me a call saying that the ninth family would fall. Somehow she is in touch with the vampyres and I need to save my world once again, would you be willing to help my new race?"

"Wow, I really thought this conscience was starting to fade but you do have one!"

Artemis felt weird, the words he had just said were not coming from him, they just passed by his brain and they needed to come out... Had he really wanted to save the world once again? He knew this vicious circle would never end. Opal would always seek a revenge and each time, it was even harder to fight against the pixie.

"Artemis, are you there?" Holly, interrupted the Irish boy's inner reflection. "You know we will help you with this one."

"I'm not sure it would be sane. These words you heard me say were not mine; they were… whispered into me…"

"What? That's not the point, you were the best, as well as the worst ally the People could have! You cannot give up on us, just like we can't give up on you!"

Artemis felt the strenght and the truth in Holly's voice. He had the choice to save a nation, or to die along with everyone else… For change… And the truth was that he was the only one who could outsmart Opal. So to Holly's words, he slowly answered, "You are right… Therefore we will fight Opal once and for all."

A headake struk Artemis once again, spreading to his cheekbones and his jaw. It only lasted a two seconds but it was enough for his vision to go blurry. He said good-bye to Holly after catching up his breath and fell asleep on his bed.

The next night, Artemis woke up at 9:30 PM, half paniked, he looked at the calendar and saw with relief that it was Saturday. It was only after dressing up that he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

His skin looked paler than usual, contrasting with the tattoos on his forehead. _Wait a minute…_ Artemis thought. _Tattoos?_ Wasn't he only supposed to have a moon cresent?

Framing his face, were some celtic looking intertwined lines and patterns. They were spreading on his face like a mask making him look like the "Robin Hood" he used to be. Truth to be told, Artemis internally freaked out. Not only was he the new kid with a weird Mark, but he would now be the unsusual vampyre fledgling. The freak. Without a second thought, he took the concealer and hid his new Mark. It just, wasn't the right time to brag about a tattoo.

Artemis went down in the living-room-like dorm and took a small breakfast. Then, every student was called to the Ritual Room. Artemis once again followed the group of students leaving the dorm.

At the door of the Ritual Room was a vampyre who Artemis recognized as the Visual Arts teacher, Prof Viktor Collins. "Merry Meet." He said, then he glanced at Artemis's tattoo and traced a pentagram on his forhead. The young fledgling hoped the concealer was resistant and entered the room.

It was a really big, squared shape chamber. The walls were covered with some black fabric and some real candeliers were lit above everyone's head. The candles were of different colors in different corners of the room. To the north, they were dark green, to the south, dark red. To the east, the candles were of a golden yellow shade and to the west they were navi blue. In the middle of the room, the biggest candelier was holding purple candles only. Artemis quickly associated them to the five elements as represented in the Wiccan spirituality, Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit.

Following his instinct he entered in the circle formed by other fledglings and vampyres. A few minutes later, everyone was ready and Zahra entered the circle, looking majestic and powerful. A poem was recited and the school's High Priestress gracefully walked around the circle, passing around a cup of vine, murmuring "Blessed Be" to everyone. Artemis immitated his neighbors whom answered Zahra and whom drank a sip of the vine.

Zahra finally went back to the center of the circle and took the rest of the liquid in the cup. She lit a white candle and started the ritual.

"For our High Priestress Shekinah, who passed away…" She slowly started. Then, she walked to the East where an adult vampyre was holding a yellow candle. "Air, the first element we all encounter, just like the first breeze of the morning, I summon you to this circle."

As the elemental candle was lit, Artemis remembered flying through the sky with Holly. He could feel the wind like if he was living the moment.

Zahra then walked to the South, in front of a vampyre who was holding a burgundy candle. "Fire, associated with passion and strenght, just like love and just like hate, I call you to this circle." Lightning the candle, Zahra continued her walk.

Artemis felt like if he was burning, reanimating a memory of Hybras and of the volcano where he once casted a magical circle of his own.

Moving towards the West, Zahra went where stood a vampyre holding a blue candle this time. "Water, life source of many as well as some people's biggest fear, like a wave making its way to the shore, I summon you to this circle."

Then, Artemis felt the powerful tide of an artificial river Holly and him had crossed to save their lifes from the terrific bull trolls. Even though he was breathing at a constant speed, water was surrounding him.

Zahra was now to the North, facing a vampyre who was firmly holding her green candle. "Earth, our home to all, where we once lived and where we will once return, I invite you to this circle."

Earth, where we will once return… Artemis thought before remembering his trip to Haven City as well as Mulch, who would always seek the insides of his tunnels. Of course, Artemis did not want to remember every detail from his time in a tunnel with Mulch but he could not help but to feel Earth surronding him.

The High Priestress was back in the middle of the circle again, taking a purple candle in her free hand. "Spirit, the final element, the one that fills us until our body frees it, I summon you to this circle."

As with each element, Artemis felt Spirit as a memory. The time tunnel, where his body was more or less consistant and where everyone's soul could connect and feel just like one being…

He only noticed his eyes were closed when he decided to open them to find an intrigated looking crowd. Apart from the elements, Artemis could fell something else, a wild force he could recongnize as something that he once stole. Magik, strong and pure fairy magik, the one he took from Qwan. He could also see some blue and red sparks floating near his forehead, making his new tattoos glow through the concealer.

A small glance at the circle told him that everyone in the room was staring at him, even Zahra. Taking a deep breath, Artemis controlled his magik and his tattoos went back to normal. Well, almost normal considering that a fledgling was not supposed to have extended Marks.

Zahra shook her head realizing that it was not very polite to stare at someone and went on with the ritual. "I believe our Goddess Nyx decided to gift many of you with some special abilities… Just like Diana, just here," she said pointing to the girl who Artemis met during his first lunch at the House of Night. "I think we all know by now that she can detect truth and lies. And well tonight I guess that Nyx gifted Artemis Fowl just like she did with Zoey Redbird from the Tulsa House of Night," she smiled at Artemis and continued the ceremony smoothly. When came the time to thank each element she kept an eye on the young Irish boy and saw that as they departed, a spark associated with the color of each element appeared at the tip of Artemis's fingers.

"Merry Meet and Merry Part and Merry Meet again." She finally said as an echo produced by all the other fledglings and vampyres answered her.

As the group left the auditorium, she said to Artemis to stay behind. The concealer on his forehead was all gone because of the sparks and he felt so much powerful than he ever did.

"Artemis," asked Zahra "Since when do you have those Marks?"

"They appeared last day," _when I decided to save the world,_ thought Artemis.

"Did you feel the elements tonight? All of them?"

"Yes I did, they came to me as memories."

"Wow, I thought that I was lucky to manifest Spirit," she said smiling. "I don't know if you want to but, I think you should come with me to Italy. Since your tattoo is added too I feel like you might need to know a little bit more about vampyres. I think that your transformation might be different from others.'"

"Studying in advance? I can handle that," he said as his trademark smile falshed across his face.


	6. Chapter Four, Early

**Chapter Four, Early**

Monday night, 7:30 PM, Artemis was in the hall of the House of Night, getting ready for his trip to Italy. Carrying his suitcase, he briefly wondered about calling Butler and to see if he could come with them.

"Hi Artemis," Zahra greeted him, as she walked down the hall with a medium sized valise. "I just called the Council to see if you could be allowed in and they told me that this week two other fledglings developped the same affinities as that kid form Tulsa. Weirdly, they are coming from France and Canada's House of Nights… I think Nyx as something in mind..."

Nyx's words floated in Artemis's brain.

"_Ultimate powers, _

_A poisonous,_

_A precious stone…_

_Beware the false Goddess."_

Artemis simply nodded and the pair left for the House of Night's private jet. During the flight, Zahra thaught Artemis more than what a normal third former would know. He mastered the vampyre biology as well as the signification of most of the vampyre rituals even though they only were in the plane for three hours. Sadly enough, he also learned everything about fledglings that were rejecting the Change.

"You are doing great!" The school's High Priestess said to him.

"I am… was a child prodigy, I can't help it." Replied Artemis truthfully while getting off of the plane.

They were in a dark hangar, in which was a small dock where a luxurious boat was floating. It was the boat that would lead them to San Clemente. For the whole ride, Artemis stayed outside, on the deck and staired at the moon's reflect in the ocean. Everything seemed too peaceful to be true, too calm compared to Artemis who was constently hearing in his head: "It's too early! I'm not even aware of my powers and they want me to save the world!"

When the got off of the ship a warm wind was silently blowing through the leafs of the trees and the San Clemente Palace was visible not too far away.

"Welcome to San Clemente Island," greeted a blond vampyre. "The Paris _Maison de la Nuit_'s guests just arrived too." She continued, staring at Artemis's Marks. The boy smiled a cold smile and the vampyre quickly looked away. "My name is Grace. Just follow me."

The group walked into the prestigious hall of a hotel where two people were waiting and talking. The High Priestess of the France House of Night and the unusual fledgling number two, Artemis guessed.

"Anabelle!" Said Zahra to the oldest vampyre. "Comment ça va?"

"Zahra, I am fine. But I was starting to miss civilization… Well at least we're not alone anymore," she answered in a broken English with a little laugh.

"This is my gifted fledgling, Artemis Fowl II," she presented Artemis to Anabelle and the youngest girl turned her head.

"So, still copying me… Fowl," said the blond girl, hiding a smile. She passed her hand in her curly hair and laughed. "Your Mark looks stunning by the way."

"Minerva," Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"You know each other?" Asked Zahra slightly confused.

"Yes." They both answered.

"She is an old… friend… of mine." The boy answered looking at Miss Paradizo's Mark. It was composed of leaves and flowers, looking like a laurel crown. It was definitely one of the symbols representing Minerva the Roman goddess.

"Well," said Zahra, "Do you know what will be the plan for tonight?"

"As soon as the Québec's High Priestess arrives, we will need to learn our fledglings the rules of the Council but apart from that, we have some time to visit the island." Answered Anabelle.

At that moment, the same blond vampyre who lead Artemis and Zahra to the lobby arrived with two other guests. The younger one put her iPod inside of her bag and gave a short nod and smile to the group, while the others greeted Mélina the High Pristress.

"Hi, it's been such a long time since I last saw you two! At least fifty years," started Mélina. "This is Silyah, my element gifted fledgling," she added, but before she could continue her sentence, a cellphone rang. The vampyre named Grace answered and a few seconds later, she was leading the group to their suite.

"I am sorry, but we got some unexpected visitors." She said as she gave everyone their room's keys. "You will be called down when you are allowed to leave your rooms."

Silyah exchanged an intrigated look with Mélina as everybody got into their rooms. Some doors connected all the six chambers together and they were all open, creating one big suite ressembling an appartement.

"Well," said Silyah as everyone gathered in Zahra's room, "Since we have not been formally presented, I suggest that we do so right now,"

she proposed to the other fledglings.

So, one by one, they introduced themselves. As he said his name, Artemis noticed a slight change in Silyah's expression. _Marvellous_, he thought, another mystery to figure out…

It was soon time to eat and food was delivered directly into the suite. While they took their meal, the three High Priestesses explained the basic rules of the Council to their fledglings. Soon enough, everybody new what to expect during the assembly and were ready to face the most powerful and influencial vampyres of the world. It was simple after all! Get up when the Council is announced, remain quiet until you are being recognized by the Council and most importantly: respect the Council members.

After dinner, everyone was back to there own rooms and were doing various activities.

The High Priestesses were unpacking their belongings and chatting through the open doors while Minerva was reading a book. Artemis was checking his emails on his smart phone and Silyah was drawing and listening to music, quieltly signing the lyrics of a song. It was then that Artemis realized that she was not really signing the actual lyrics. The beat was there but the words were not… Was it even possible? The girl was actually talking Gnommish. And not only was she talking the Fairy langage but she was also saying something that sounded quite familiar to Artemis. It was Nyx's enigma.

"Pardon me," Said Artemis, slowly walking towards Silyah's door. "Can I know the title of this… song?"

Silyah mumbled the Gnommish words under her breath and confirmed what Artemis thought; the People were linked to their transformations. "Nyx's Enigma," said the young girl before adding "And I know the poisonous, precious stone is Opal Koboi."


	7. Chapter Five, Fake

**Chapter Five, Fake**

Artemis was not surprised by Silyah's knowledge. Of course he was wondering the story behind her encounter with the People, but he knew it would be perfectly logical.

Still in Gnommish, he asked the young girl to tell him her story.

"Sometimes I can be a little bit obsessed when I have a new passion… Maybe four years ago, I was fascinated by fairies and by accident, or almost, I fell on one. The People could have mesmerised me but the fairy I met believed strongly in one old prophecy, which I am still unaware of, and decided to keep me as an ally to keep them updated of what was happening above them," she explained in the People's language.

"And did _they _keep _you_ updated about what was happening below the ground?" He asked her trying to hide his curiosity.

"I'm sure that you meant 'Did they tell you about me?' and the answer is yes. They told me to keep an eye open, to be careful. However I think that you are a good friend of the People, since you are now fighting Opal with us."

"Have you met her yet?"

"No, but I know that she is responsible for all of this, I just know it…" she said before adding in plain English this time, "Do you have the password for the Wi-Fi connection? I need to check my Twitter page."

And that was the last thing he told her before a knock came at Zahra's door. As soon as she reached and opened it, Grace, the one who had greeted them when they arrived on the island, told them that a Council assembly was about to start.

As they walked through the hallways and then through a little road on the island, the fledglings could not help but wonder what would they be doing in during the Council meeting. They were all newly Marked and they knew nothing too serious about vampyre politics...

When Artemis arrived in front of the Council chamber, he noticed that it was as ordinary as a modified human cathedral. It was a really beautiful ordinary church but that did not change anything about the nature of the building. The windows were decorated with stained glass, all of them representing something about Nyx. Artemis could recognize the Goddess herself, as well as a pentacle, an indicative of the five elements. The group walked into the church/Council chamber and Grace assigned them two tiers of seats, one for the High Priestesses in the second row and one for the fledglings on the fourth row of the right side. As the minutes passed, more vampyres filled the Council chamber… When the last two people that were not part from the Council arrived, the mood in the room changed and the three special fledglings tensed. Artemis could not help but seeing darkness (or was it madness?) in the auburn haired and green-eyed vampyre beside the man. She seemed very powerful and dangerous to him and he knew where he had seen that same personality. Opal Koboi… One more time, everything appeared to be linked to the evil pixie. She was followed by - Artemis blinked twice and realised that it was not his imagination - a winged man who was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. The situation was getting more and more curious...

Shortly enough, the Council arrived and everyone got up, everyone except the two people who were radiating darkness. They remained seated as if _they_ were waiting for the Council to listen to them.

Finally, the seven Council members took their seats at the front of the chamber.

The vampyre who was seated in the middle, Duantia, as the fledglings learned, spoke first. "Merry Meet everyone. Since we have an unexpected guest today, I will not expand on greetings and I will start this meeting right now. Neferet, would you explain to the Council the reason of your presence here?" Her gaze went to the auburn haired vampyre and the winged man beside her.

"Please, from now on call me Nyx Incarnate. That is why I am here, to tell you that the goddess finally made her way to Earth through me." Her voice was empowered by darkness and yet she really looked like a goddess, or at least an immortal being. "And of course, my warrior and consort Erebus followed me too, as I need him to protect me from any danger."

That was it; Nyx's enigma was complete. Artemis, Minerva and Silyah looked at each other, the three of them realizing that "the false goddess" was without any doubt Neferet.

"And what danger could you face, if you are only here to tell us you who think you are _Neferet_?" Another vampyre asked. By her tone and the expression on her face, it was easy to tell that Thanatos was the asker.

"Well, as I _am_ Nyx Incarnate, I am also here to claim the title of High Priestess. And for your information, dangers are everywhere. Competition can be a danger," she said in a sharp voice, looking straight at the three chosen High Priestesses. Zahra raised her hand and the Council recognized her.

"Please, Neferet, spare us the theatrical manners! You cannot claim the title. Nobody here can either. If you actually make it and become the High Priestess, so be it, but at least use a little bit of democracy."

"She is right Neferet. Nobody will interfere with our selection process," nodded Thanatos. "However, since you were not in our original selection, you will have to make your proofs."

"I can't believe you are arguing with me. And my name is not Neferet anymore!" exclaimed the auburn-haired vampyre. Her tone was not angry but the madness in her eyes had doubled.

"I declare this case closed," Duantia said. "Neferet, or Nyx Incarnate, will be considered in our voting, along with the other Priestesses… And she will be treated equally. Now, on another note and in the name of our Council, I recongnize Mr. Artemis, Ms. Minerva and Ms. Silyah, you may all stand up please. One by one answer this question, in human age, how old are you?"

"Fifteen years old." They said, taking their turns.

"Oh, Goddess," Duantia seemed really shocked, which was not common for a member of the Council. "Fledglings are not supposed to be Marked that young…"

"But their Marks are not supposed to be added to and yet, four cases occurred recently," pondered Thanatos.

Neferet turned her head for the first time towards Artemis. Her expression was somewhere between repulsion, grace and hate. The young boy noticed that his newfound enemy had realized how powerful he could become. Her eyes grew wide for a nano-second when she saw Silyah and Minerva, other possible threats, but she quickly gained back her composure and offered the group a fake motherly smile, which they returned to her. For a moment, Artemis felt like is old self again, smiling his trademark vampire smile. Ironic.

"Now, may I ask you about your powers? To make this simpler and less repetitive, would you please designate a speaker?" Duantia continued.

"Artemis," murmured Silyah while Artemis looked towards Minerva for approval.

"Go ahead." whispered the blond girl.

"Miss Duantia, I will be the speaker," the Council Members nodded at Artemis and he started one of his signature mini speech. "Apart from the normal vampyre gifts I am aware of, we are all believed to be Gifted with an affinity for all of the five elements. When we attended to our first circle casting, we all felt the elements surrounding us," he looked at the girls to make sure he was speaking for everybody and went on. "We never had the time to see how we could control them but I am sure an opportunity will be offered to us soon enough."

"Is there anything you, Gifted fledglings might want to add before I can discuss a new subject?"

"No Madam." They all said like if they were in Elementary School.

Then, Duantia went on with the meeting, and finished by reciting a prayer for the ex-High Priestess Shekinah.

"Well, that's it for today," She finally said. "Merry meet and Marry part and Merry meet again. May Nyx bless all of you."

"Blessed be." replied the audience as they left the cathedral, quietly whispering about what had just been said in the chamber. Nobody however, had appeared to noticed the madness in Neferet's eyes.

It was barely 2:30 AM and the moon was slowly disappearing behind the horizon but the group still had time for a little nocturnal walk in San Clemente. While Artemis and Minerva kept making comments about architecture and mythology, the three High Priestesses tried to keep up with the knowledge overload and Silyah just observed silently taking in the beauty of the surroundings, taking pictures as they walked in front of an anicent labyrinth.

Once supper time arrived, the vampyres and the fledglings headed back to the hotel where a five star restaurent awaited them.

The "evening" had passed smoothly and as the day began, everyone was back to his or her rooms for a well-deserved sleep.

* * *

Artemis's dream began as every single one of his dreams did, with the nightmarish visions of previous adventures. Then, his world started to lighten up with the arrival of Holly… However, as the Captain Short was about to save their lives once again, the young boy seemed to gain consciousness within the dream.

I must be in a lucid dream, he thought, but he reconsidered the idea when the settings around him began to fade in pixels.

Looking at his left side, he saw the concert Silyah was attending to vanish and to his right, Minerva's Nobel Prize ceremony slowly disappeared. As their surrondings dissipated, the expressions on the fledging's faces flashed from a foggy state to a fully conscious one. The two girls walked to the center of the room as if the walls were pushing them towards Artemis. Passing her hand in her wavy brown hair, Silyah was the first one to break the silence.

"Is my imagination way too vivid or this dream seems too real to actually be a dream?" Then, she flexed her fingers to see how much control she had over her "body".

Minerva nodded slowly, fascinated. "How are we supposed to know if everything happening right now is not all in my head?" she asked.

"We could use a password," suggested Artemis. "A word we don't really use often in these times… What about _D'Arvit_?"

"Sure, why not," replied Silyah, "but while we are here and while we are, hypothetically, conscious, maybe we could try to understand what took us in this dream and why. I know that vampyres are psychic but I am sure that they don't communicate during their sleeps."

"I suppose it is because of our Magick..." theories were spinning in Artemis's brain. "Our minds are, hypothetically, connected as if we were in a time tunnel, probably because Nyx is aware of the gravity of the situation and she wants to give us some time to discuss a strategy, and all of this in secret."

"Plausible," agreed Minerva, "the fact that we got Marked might have awoken our powers as we all have been in contact with some sort of Magick… Am I right Silyah?"

"Yes, I have been healed once… And I agree with Artemis, as I said earlier most vampyres are highly intuitive and some informations, like the fact that an High Priestess might have been _mesmerized_ by a pixie, are just not meant to be heard."

"_Mesmerized_, Really?" Asked Artemis thinking about how Opal had taken possession of his mother's body.

There was a few seconds of silence before Minerva added, "I assume that now every elements of the poem have been deciphered… The ultimate powers belong to 'the poisonous, precious stone' or Opal Koboi and the false goddess we must beware is Neferet... But I have a feeling that a piece of information is missing from this equation."

"We need to summarize everything we already know," concluded the boy. "First of all... We are a different kind of fledglings, a Magickal kind. We are gifted with abilities no one else ever thought about. Secondly, I belive that we will eventually play a major role in the People's life. The third point would be that Opal is using Neferet, as well as the winged man. The fourth and last thing I know is that we are now taking part in a real battle between good and evil."

"Well said," agreed Silyah furrowing her brows. "What a job description..."

She barely had the time to finish her sentence that a loud "beep-beep-beep" forced the fledglings to wake up. An alarm clock, they guessed.

Yet, afterwards, they would have prefered that the clock would have never rang… The fledglings had no way of guessing before they went to sleep that a disaster would occur the following night…


	8. Chapter Six, D'Arvit

**Chapter Six, D'Arvit**

It was exactly 8:30 when Artemis knocked on Silyah's door. The girl was putting on a pair of socks while trying to fix her hair when he handed her a small piece of paper. "D'Arvit", she said to him before reading the same word on the note. A few seconds later, Minerva, whose room was the last one to the right, came to Artemis's to whisper to him and Silyah the password. With a feeling close to fascination, the Magickal Fledglings realized that they really had a conversation while they slept.

Now, all gathered in Artemis's suite, they took their breakfast and watched the Vampyre News Channel on an oversized plasma television.

"The Tulsa House of Night somehow still seems to host disasters. The school where two murders had occurred can now count two more adult vampyre's deaths. After our beloved High Priestess Shekinah passed away in this school's ground, some mysterious creatures killed another teacher whose name will not be announced by respect to her family. Our sources got us aware that the High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night was in San Clemente for an audience with the High Council when the crime occurred. Well, that concludes our news segment for today. Now let's see what happened in the entertainment world…" The presenter of the bulletin went on about vampyre celebrities while the three fledglings were staring wide-eyed at each others.

"You know what I don't understand," started Silyah.

"Of course," continued Artemis for her. "Why so many clues?"

"If Opal truly was the genius she claims to be, she would not have left any clues," added Minerva.

"I have been considering this option since the day she contacted me through my fairy communicator. I came up with two reasons why she could have done that. Either she is trying to mislead us by making us think that defeating her will be easy, either she has a powerful weapon that could destroy everyone above and below the ground," Artemis's last statement was unfortunately the more logical one…

"I need to know more about Opal," said Minerva. "My experiences with the People have been very short and the only race I am familiar with are the demons. Artemis, je dois savoir."

"Moi aussi, je crois que j'aurais besoin d'informations. Oh, sorry for the language change… Even though that's not the most important thing right now as I know we all speak French… As I said, I agree with Minerva. We never met Opal and you did, you might have other clues."

So, Artemis told his story from the beginning, making sure that the High Priestesses were not hearing anything. From his first encounter with the pixie, to the time travel, to the fact that another Opal might have appeared in their universe, everything was said.

The first half of their night was passed as an Opal Koboi 101 lesson. Soon after the Opal talk, Zahra came into Artemis's suite, bringing a dinner she had ordered for them. The Priestess also announced the that another Council meeting would be held in the next hour before going back in her own room.

That was when they heard _her_. Some panicked and exhausted sobs coming from the Palace's hallway made their way through the walls. There was also a deeper voice comforting the sobbing one. Minerva got up, looked in the peephole of the door and came back with an astonishing statement. "It's a human, the girl was followed by a huge vampyre."

"It's probably a broken imprint. I heard it was rather painful for the human," Silyah whispered before requesting complete silence to hear the strangers' conversation.

"Aphrodite, I know you can go through this. Nyx is protecting you. You are her prophetess. Everything will be fine my love," said the deeper voice.

"I still feel the emptiness though. Darius I was so scared!" Then, Aphrodite broke into tears once again.

"I think we need to speak to her," murmured the Irish boy. "She might be aware of the proph –"

"Kids," Called Mélina. "It's time to go to the High Council meeting."

"We need to evaluate our strengths this afternoon," said Silyah quietly just for Artemis and Minerva to hear.

Even though everything in their minds was screaming the fledglings to go talk to Aphrodite, they followed the Priestesses to the Council chamber. Once again, they were the first ones to arrive. Grace walked in just in time to assign them their seats. They were in the back of the chamber this time, almost hidden in a place where the light of the gigantic chandelier on the ceiling was not able to reach. Slowly filling the empty seats, more vampyres arrived. The mood in the cathedral was particularly bizarre. Especially when a group of fledglings appeared, followed by a human boy. They exchanged a few words before the High Council was announced, and the human sat in the darkest corner of the chapel, near the Magickal Fledglings.

Neferet and the winged man only came into the church after the seven Council members did and like the last time, they sat before them while everyone was standing up by respect.

Duantia's powerful voice was carried in the whole room as the assembly began. "The High Council is convened for this special session. I Duantia call us to order. May Nyx lend her wisdom and guidance to us." All the vampyres, the fledglings and even the human repeated her last sentence. "We have further questions for Neferet and the being who calls himself Erebus." She continued.

The winged man looked at Neferet and said almost politely "Merry meet again."

"We have questions about your origins," mentioned the leader of the Council.

"It is natural that you would."

"You say you are Erebus come to Earth."

"I am indeed an immortal being."

"Are you Nyx's consort, Erebus?"

A young vampyre with long and dark hair stared at the ceiling almost suppliantly.

"I once stood at Nyx's side. Then, I fell to earth. Now I am here at –"

"At the side of the Goddess Incarnate," Neferet interrupted almost purring at Erebus.

Duantia, tired of Neferet's insistence requested the immortal to speak for himself.

"As any consort would, I bow to my vampyre mistress," the man said smiling at the mistress in question. This display almost reminded Artemis of the "relationship" between Opal and Briar Cudgeon.

"Do you expect us to believe that Erebus's incarnation on this earth has no will of his own?" Duantia asked.

"Whether on earth or beside Nyx in the Godess's Realm, Erebus is devoted to his mistress, and his desires reflect hers. I can tell you that I know the truth of these words through personal experience."

At this point, Artemis knew the man was not Erebus. An immortal being could not use such an improper grammar. He would never talk about himself in the third person.

"Why did you leave Nyx's Realm?" asked Thanatos.

"I fell. I chose to leave because I no longer believed I served my Goddess well. At first it felt as if I had made a terrible mistake, and then I rose from the earth to find a new realm and a new mistress. Lately I have begun to believe I could indeed serve my Goddess again, only this time through her representative on Earth." The immortal's eyes were fixated on the young vampyre Duantia was about to call.

"Zoey Redbird. The Council recognizes you." Zoey Redbird? She was the fledgling everyone kept talking about, the one who also had an affinity for the five elements.

"Thank you. Merry meet," she said nervously.

"Merry meet. Our sister, Lenobia, notified us that in Neferet's absence from your House of Night, you have been named High Priestess; therefore, you represent their will."

Neferet seemed so shocked by the statement, saying it was not appropriate for a child fledgling to be named High Priestess and that she could remain in charge of the Tulsa's House of Night.

"Not if your House's Council has deposed you," replied Duantia.

"The appearance of Erebus and the death of Shekinah has shaken Tulsa's House of Night greatly, especially following so soon after the terrible and tragic murders of two of our professors by local humans. It saddens me, but the Council members of my House are not thinking clearly."

"That the Tulsa House is in turmoil is undeniable. Nevertheless, we recognize their right to make the appointment of a new High Priestess, though it is unusual for a fledgling to be named to the position," said Duantia.

"She is a highly unusual fledgling," the immortal retorted smiling.

Then, Thanatos decided it was a good time to intervene. "Interesting you speak in support of her, Erebus, as Lenobia says Zoey believes in another version of who it is that you are."

"I said she was unusual, not infallible."

Silyah could not help but to chuckle under her breath, as several other vampyres did. Thanatos however was not laughing. "So tell us, unusual and very young Zoey Redbird, who do you believe our winged immortal to be?"

"I believe he's been lots of different things. I think he used to be close to Nyx, though he isn't Erebus."

"And if he isn't Erebus, who is he?"

"My grandmother's people are Cherokee and they have an old legend about him. They called him Kalona. He lived with the Cherokee after he fell from Nyx's Realm. I don't think he was himself then. He did terrible things to the women of the tribe, he fathered monsters. My grandmother told me how he was trapped. There was even a song the people used to sing that told how he could be freed from his imprisonment – directions Neferet followed, which is why he's here now. I think he's with Neferet because he wanted to be the consort of a goddess, and I think he messed up in his choice. Neferet isn't even a goddess, she isn't even a goddess's High Priestess anymore."

Zoey revealed a major clue to Artemis's group, but of course, Neferet was not agreeing with her. "How dare you. As if you – a fledgling _child_ – can know who I am to Nyx?"

"No Neferet I don't have any idea who you are to Nyx anymore. I don't begin to understand what you've become. But I do know who you _aren't. _You aren't Nyx's High Priestess."

Neferet's reaction to the last sentence reminded strongly Artemis of how Opal used to react. She was trying to make Zoey look bad and jealous of her relation with Kalona. Duantia quickly made her calm down and questionned Kalona about Zoey's speech. The immortal said that the girl believed that what she was saying was the truth and he engulfed himself in a lecture about bringing the ancient ways back. And all of this without saying the actual truth about his own opinion…

"And when you're ready to be led by Nyx Icarnate and her consort Erebus, then, we will bring the ancient ways to life again, so that we may all stand proud and strong – and not to bow to human bondage and prejudice." Neferet continued for him. "Until then, listen to the whining of children as Erebus and I reclaim Capri from those who have interloped on our ancient home too long."

"Neferet the Council will not sanction war against humans. You cannot force them from their homes on the island."

Neferet seemed offended and amused as she explained to Duantia that she had purchased Nyx's castle to an elderly human and talked about how she should have the right to rule the ancient home of the vampyres with Erebus. In a swirl of silk and with a "Merry meet, marry part and merry meet again" from Kalona, they left the chamber leaving many vampyres arguing.

"Enough! This chamber will be cleared immediately. We will not disintegrate into chaotic rabble." exclaimed Duantia.

Zahra, Anabelle and Mélina slowly and calmly led their fledglings outside the cathedral and they headed back to the Palace. Well, they tried. As they were entering the grounds of the hotel in question, something that could change the vampyre' and well as the other Peoples' History happened.

In a purple flash of light, an heart-breaking "_No!_" pierced the night.


	9. Chapter Seven, Affinities

**Chapter Seven, Affinities**

Driven at a Goddess given speed, the fledglings were led to the place where the blinding beam of purple light had been seen. There were so many possible disasters. The light might have come from a new kind of Neutrino or even from a bomb or some kind of probe. But the truth was far more complex than that.

In a matter of a few minutes, if not seconds, the group arrived in front of the old maze.

"Oh my goodness!" said Silyah, breathless. "Being Marked really improved my cardi – oh never mind," she managed to mumble before losing her balance, half glad to be falling in Artemis's arms, half terrified to notice that Artemis, taken by surprise, was falling too. Fortunately for the two fledglings, a strong hand caught them before they touched the ground.

"Hey there, careful kids, I don't know how fledglings could have ran this quickly…" the vampyre shook his head. From what they could remember of the scene that had happened in the hallway of the Palace, the voice belonged to Darius. The tall man really reminded Artemis of a younger version of Butler. Darius looked at the three fledglings's Marks curiously before storming away from them to a girl who lay on the ground beside some teary-eyed fledglings and a vampire with red tattoos.

"What happened to Zoey?" shouted Darius.

"Her soul shattered, she's not here anymore," cried the Red Vampyre like if he had repeated these words so many times that they were engraved in his brain.

But this scene seemed far away from Minerva. She was staring at something that could later on be the most useful tool they could come upon. Kalona, the immortal was also on the ground and the Priestess, Neferet, appeared to control him. She was waving her fingers around him, like if she was threading Darkness. Beside her, the air shimmered.

"Minerva, I think we need to see what happened to Zoey now," said Silyah.

The blond girl walked out of the shadows and joined the group.

"Who are these people?" said the vampyre with red Marks, the one who was holding the semi-lifeless body of Zoey Redbird. His tone was somewhere between paranoia and sadness.

"We are fledglings gifted with affinities with the five elements," explained Minerva softly. They could all see the question marks hovering in the air. Fledglings?

"I am Artemis Fowl II, the girls here are Minerva Paradizo and Silyah –" he stopped, unaware of Silyah's last name.

"Nemesis, that's my vampyre name... Silyah Maera Nemesis," the girl replied quickly, eyeing Zoey with concern.

"Elements-gifted fledglings?" A girl with platinum blond hair asked.

"Like our Zoey?" added the fledgling with dark skin standing beside her. Even if their appearances were absolutely different, the two girls looked like twins.

"Maybe they can help us…" whispered a boy whose arm was wrapped around another young man's waist.

"Yes Jack, I think they can…" said the darker haired boy.

"They will need guidance first," said another voice that seemed to be approaching. It was Thanatos, the Council Member whom had chosen the Greek name for death. "I believe they never used their powers yet. You will need to guide them through the process. First of all fledglings, pick one element…" She added at the intentions of the Magickal Fledglings.

Without even realizing it, Artemis said one word; Fire. After thinking about it, it seemed like the most logical answer. When he had stolen his fairy Magick, he was heading towards Hybras, the island of the demons. Everybody – vampyre or not – could tell there was fire there.

On the other hand, Minerva unconsciously chose water. In fact the reason why was very simple. During her first encounter with Artemis and the People she started out by being the opponent, Artemis's only weakness.

For a little bit less obvious reason, Silyah had picked air. Just like the wind, she had been everywhere, aware of everything going on in the fairy world without actually being seen.

The girl with mocha colored skin and the blond fledgling beside her stepped forward, along with the brown haired boy. The boy in question walked towards Silyah and presented himself as Damien Maslin while the light haired girl, Erin Bates went to Minerva's side.

Finally, the dark skinned girl presented her hand to Artemis. "Hi, I am Shaunee Cole, I am gifted with an affinity for fire." Artemis briefly grabbed her forearm for a vampire-styled greeting.

"The first you gotta do is to ask the element to join you, like in a circle casting," Shaunee explained Artemis. From the corner of his eye, Artemis could see Thanatos studying every single one of the fledglings' movements.

Following Shaunee's directions, Artemis invited his element. "Fire, come to me."

As familiar warmth surrounded him, he looked around to see the others in possession of their own elements. He also saw Shaunee, Erin and Damien staring at them in awe, for their Marks had changed colors according to what element they had summoned. Their tattoos were glowing through their skins and some tiny sparks of magic swirled in a magnificent dance around them.

Thanatos had kept a stern look on her face when she ordered something inaudible to the vampyre warriors holding and taking Zoey's vitals before continuing to study the fledglings.

"Now you need to find a flame you can control, or you can just ask your element to heat up something." Shaunee said to Artemis. The boy held his hand at eye level and made a small ball of fire appear on his palm, like a goblin would. Shaunee had never seen anything like this before.

"How about you all work together?" Thanatos requested. "Surprise me…"

Artemis moved closer to Minerva and pronounced each of his words distinctly. "Fire, make the water evaporate," then, he looked at Silyah to make sure that she knew enough about science know what to do next.

In a clear voice, she said, "Air, cool down the water particles," the girl's hand pointed to where Minerva had directed her water and to everyone's fascination, it started to snow in a one meter squared area.

"How amazing is that," said a sarcastic yet faint voice. "We came all the way from Tulsa, which is, by the way covered in ice, to discover more snow in Venice." Then the human girl pronounced some words that could easily be translated by a few "D'Arvits" before adding, "What the _hell_ happened to Zoey?"

Six of the seven Council members were around the shattered girl's body and some warriors were making sure her outer-shell was still living. She had been carefully placed in a stretcher, looking as still as death.

At the sight of her friend, Aphrodite became hysterical. She kept mumbling about how impossible it was and how her visions had been clear, that Zoey would be there to confront Kalona. When she managed to settle down, she asked, "How can we save her?"

"There is nothing that can be done right now. The sun is going to rise and I was told that the priestess's warrior, being a red vampire, cannot stand it as much as us." explained Duantia. "Go back to the palace and rest. I only need to know where her warrior, Stark, wants Zoey's body to be placed." And to the Council leader's question, Stark answered that he wanted his priestess to stay close to him.

The whole group then took off, temporarily focusing on Zoey instead of Kalona and Neferet. Well, actually, everyone _but_ the three Magickal Fledgling… Minerva , guided by the Goddess, took the lead in asking Aphrodite if they could be clued in about Zoey's past life. The human reluctantly accepted and invited the fledglings to join them in Stark and Zoey's suite.

* * *

Zoey's body had delicately been placed on a bed on which her warrior was seated, holding her hand. Artemis, Minerva and Silyah were gathered in the corner of the room, ready to hear the clues that could be given by Aphrodite.

The prophetess began her speech, sometimes interrupted by Zoey's friends who tried to add as manydetails as possible. From the day she was Marked to earlier that night, everything was covered; her imprints with Heath Luck and Loren Blake, going by her relationship with Eric Night. When the warrior subject came up, they even talked about the red vampyres and how they came to be. As soon as Aphrodite finished the story, Zoey's friends could see thousands of questions in the Magickal Fledgling's eyes.

The first one was asked by Minerva, "What about Neferet, the High Priestess?" quickly followed by, "Did her behavior changed in a short – or long – period of time?" This question asked by Artemis would soon confirm their thoughts about Opal.

"No, Neferet only started acting weird a few months before Zoey's arrival at the House of Night. She used to be a motherly figure and now… Well she's a… She evil!" The prophetess rolled her eyes because of Damien's vocabulary but she still nodded.

The answer to the next question asked by Silyah had Artemis pondering about a possible plan. "Aphrodite? Earlier you mentionned your visions, so may I ask, what do they tell?"

"My visions usually predict deaths and disasters," Her tone went from her usual arrogance to complete seriousness in the blink of an eye. "My most recent one was about Kalona and Zoey but it was really strange. At the end of the vision, there was an… alternate ending. It started in a field and there were many vampyres burning. But I am not too sure about that 'cause I was watching the whole thing from a burning vamp's point of view. In the first ending, Kalona was with Zoey and I really mean in a totally couple-like way. In the second one Zoey defeated Kalona."

_Fire?_ Thought Artemis. A plan was boiling in the boy's brain. So much information to exploit, he wanted to start right away. "I think we know enough for now. We need to go back to our suite." He said. Then, he got up and left followed by Minerva and Silyah who had immediately understood what Artemis was thinking about.

Not long after the door was closed, the twins were already debating over who would make the best couple, "I think that Artemis and Minerva would look cute together," said Erin.

"Really twin?" Wondered Shaunee. "I thought that Silyah would be more likely to end up with him."

Then Damien's boyfriend, Jack Twist asked the most important thing about the three fledglings, "Why do we trust them with Z's secrets again?"

"I don't really know," replied the dark skinned girl.

"They look creepy to me," added Jack.

"Yeah, I gotta admit that, have you seen how pale their skin is and how their Marks are glowing when the conjure elements?"

"I know why we trust them..." said Damien before Stark explained for him.

"We trust them because the Goddess told us to."


	10. Chapter Eight, Ritual

**Chapter Eight, Ritual**

The moon had long disappeared from the sky when Silyah woke up. At its place, was a dazzling and comfortably warm Sun. Since she was newly Marked, the young girl thought that the Sun in question could not hurt her eyes that much if she took her rhinestone studded sunglasses and went outside for a few minutes only. She usually never stepped outside, but this time, she wanted to go. Maybe, she thought, it would be the last time she would get to see the light of the day without having a headache.

She peaked outside her balcony's door before opening it and sat on the chaise longue, right underneath the shadow of the balcony above her. She passed her hand in the thick cascading mane of brown and copper curls covering her head. When catching the light of the sun, her hair, which usually reminded her of a gorgon's up do, became more bronze and warm than the dark brown hue the nocturnal light gave her. That was the only thing she liked about the sun.

There was still a few hours left to the vampyre's "night" and Silyah wondered about what she could do to pass the time.

The girl had just woken up from a telepathic dream with Artemis and Minerva without any reasons and she had not been able to fall back into sleep. She had to admit however, that their conversation was practically over. Their plan was the most elaborate scheme she had ever taken part in. It was the only one, but still.

_I think I finally found the place where I belong_, she thought. All her life she had felt like a silent watcher, an outsider and she had been proud of it; she was unconventional. But, finding people who shared the same opinions and maturity level as her was simply amazing. Not to mention how good it felt to have intelligent conversation with people the same age. Artemis and Minerva were the closest beings she had to friends even though they had only met a couple days ago. They all learned from each other, thanks to Nyx, who brought them together.

Minerva was the greatest mind in the biology area she had ever met and Artemis… Artemis was exceptional… So clever and mature, quite the opposite of your everyday guy. And he was good looking… Silyah mentally slapped herself and shook her head, looking for a way to change the topic in her own brain. Instead, she remembered her human high school. In almost everyone else's mind she had been the smart-on-the-edge-of-annoying girl who was good in every subject except gym, good in drawing and writing and most importantly, she was the girl with no social life. She had a small group of friends but never really had any kind of human contact. She had given up on makeup, fashion and popularity as early as secondary one. Actually, she took her revenge on these kinds of things with nail art. But nail art on 1.8 centimetres long nails only made her look more _witchy_. And she loved it.

Suddenly, a soft yet cold breeze whistled around her, taking the girl away from her daydream. The wind was talking… Whispering in her ears… _Speaking through your strongest element, I must warn you daughter; Darkness is hiding in the light. Darkness is avoiding the night. _At this very moment, Silyah felt as if she was being watched, a paranoid feeling probably sent by Nyx. She scanned the Italian surroundings, taking in every detail until she found a pair of eyes looking straight into hers.

Her new allies must have felt her surprise, for they were soon standing on their own balconies. "The plan can begin tonight." said Artemis, putting on his aviator sunglasses.

The plan, thought Silyah, the _masterplan_… She silently thanked Nyx for waking her up.

* * *

The Magickal Fledglings had passed the end of the human day in the Palace's library where they had met Zoey's circle. Everything went according to _the_ plan. The two groups had made intensive research on fallen High Priestesses and on ritual planning. Of course, Zoey's group quickly grew desperate when they learned that no priestess survived a shattering soul.

_They are not thinking rationally_, Artemis thought. He came to the conclusion that they were for the most part "driven by their hearts", already considering Zoey as if she was dead. It was in moments like these when an exterior source could be found useful. Especially if that source had business to get over with.

With their basic knowledge of vampyre rituals added to Silyah's expertise (or, as other would say, obsession) about vampyre culture and sorcery, as well as Zoey's circle's notes and experiences, they had more than enough information to be able to go on with their plan.

When the night finally fell upon Venice, the three fledglings already had found Grace in the Palace's hall. The vampyre looked quite preoccupied by the wave of fledglings disembarking in the Palace while she was in charge, and that, no matter how gifted they were… She had reluctantly accepted to lend the Magickal Fledglings a ritual room for them to _develop their powers_. Artemis could not help but to think it was completely irrelevant for the woman to worry about the sanitation when what was going to occur later on could possibly cause more damages than a filthy floor.

That night, in the ritual room, the elements swivelled along with the People's magik, as the three fledglings built the ritual that would solve everything. To an outsider, even a vampyre one, the scene would have looked surreal. As soon as all the elements were summoned, the Magickal Fledglings' Marks began glowing in a kaleidoscope of colors that could only be accessible from the mixture of the People's ancient and modern powers. The plan had been confirmed, the only thing left to do was to clue in the right people and unite everyone else in one very specific place of power.

"So, what do we do with the free time?" asked Silyah.

"I propose we go back upstairs, in our rooms, ask the High Priestesses to make sure the Council knows about 'the first ritual we will host in order to discover our powers' and get back some strength." Minerva said. Silyah looked at her ring-watch; it was about 1:30 AM. Artemis nodded and they left, stopping halfway to go eat in the Palace's restaurant. And then, they went on with their Plan.

Zahra, Mélina and Anabelle had been more than pleased to know about their fledglings' enthusiasm for the development of their powers. And so, just according to plan, they went to the Council to ask the seven members if they could allow their newly Marked students to lead a Full Moon Ritual. The Goddess probably guided them when they agreed.

Artemis's group was as confident as they ever were when they walked to the exact same place where the young Priestess, Zoey Redbird, had shattered in front of her beloved –and dead – consort.

_This is a really bizarre situation,_ contemplated Artemis._ In less than four years I went from a fairy kidnapper, juvenile criminal mastermind, to vampyre Priest._ He almost sighed… Almost. And like if it was not odd enough, he was a young man in a matriarchal society. Nevertheless, he was used to being unique.

The human prophetess, Aphrodite, was already at her place, at the Northern most point of their circle. When she had learned she was to represent Earth, she had argued like no one else would have dared to do with Artemis, saying that the Goddess had forbidened her to represent the element and that she had been zapped by it… That was until Artemis, Minerva and Silyah began talking in Gnommish. She had been so _freaked, _she accepted in less than the required time to say "D'Arvit." In fact, what Aphrodite did not know, was that she would only need to stand where Earth was represented…

Zoey's warrior, who had been selected by the Magickal Fledglings to represent Spirit, arrived a few seconds after them.

Both Aphrodite and Stark remained clueless about what would come next. They were not even aware of the fact that the prophetess had been chosen because of her predictions and that Stark was standing at Spirit's place for the simple reason that his soul was linked to Zoey's.

Soon enough, almost every vampyre of the island were forming a circle around Stark… everyone but Neferet, whom had prefered to stay to her consort's side. Since Heath Luck's murder, the immortal apparently had suffered from a nervous breakdown and his spirit had temporarily left his body. But that was only the public story…

The impressive sight of the circle was enhanced by the arrival of the Sons of Erebus. Slowly marching, two of the warriors entered the living barrier surrounding Stark, carrying Zoey's body on an intricately decorated stretcher. One of the Sons of Erebus, Darius to be precise, carefully transferred Zoey from the stretcher into Stark's arms. An altar had been placed about two feet away from where the red vampyre stood and on it, a special place had been reserved for Zoey. Stark delicately dropped his priestess beside the offerings made to Nyx. Various objects representing the five elements and a goblet full of blood were the prominent pieces of the beautiful altar the Council had provided the group. Beside the table a tall purple candle had been placed inside a wrought iron stand, which was about fifty inches tall: the perfect height. Where the Magickal Fledglings and Aphrodite stood, matching stands held the yellow, red, blue and green elemental candles required for such a ritual. Stars filled the night and the full moon created a mystique glow around the circle.

When Duantia started speaking, the magical feeling continued to increase. "Merry Meet!" she began. "Tonight, incredible powers will be displayed by fledglings whom were blessed by our Goddess. Even if the last days were filled with terror and that dreadful events occurred, let's rejoice in Nyx's love and move on to, what I hope to be, a better tomorrow." Her voice echoed in the night and was filled with such an ancient power. It was amplified, yet softened by the Goddess. Her introduction then led to a poem carefully selected by Minerva, which was recited by one of the Council member. Duantia stepped inside the circle, took the cup of blood and offered a sip to everybody. Even if blood was not supposed to be offered to fledglings, the circumstances of the Full Moon Ritual were festive enough for the High Council to allow them to drink a drop of two of the freshly donated blood.

Blood… Their very first taste of pure blood… Artemis was halfway between intrigued and reluctant when he picked up the cup from Duantia's hands. Almost like he did when he took the somnifer filled glass of champagne in order to escape the time-stop, he drank, not regarding of what was in the goblet. A wonderful, warm and delicious taste filled his mouth and too soon the blood was passed on to the next vampyre.

He looked to his right, or more accurately, to the east, where Silyah stood. Her pale skin had taken some colors – was it because of the blood? Maybe her faced was flushing because she was shy… A mixture of both perhaps. A second look was all it took to confirm that stress was starting to kick in. The poor girl's skin went from white, to red, to a ghostly paleness to finally go back to a more subtle shade of red. Her eyes quickly brushed the circle and fell on Artemis. Fortunately, the fact that he was caught starring had been completely hidden. The reason was actually quite simple; everyone was looking at her.

After Duantia handed the cup to Stark, the Red Vampyre poured a few drops of his own blood in it and offered it to Zoey. That was _her_ cue, the circle casting could begin. And of course, it started with Silyah's strongest element, air.

"Air," she said. "Always there for us, yet barely noticed... Please Air, give this circle a breath of life." She waved her hand above the candle to light it, and summoned her element. No bad jokes intended, Air's reaction had been breath taking: a luminous golden light envelopped the whole circle, creating a dome around it. The Magickal Fledglings' tattoos took the same golden hue and a sweet breeze made tiny yellow sparks leave their fingertips to go dance around each vampyre. In a matter of second, the dome created by air faded only to focus itself on the east quarter of the circle where Silyah stood, discretly smiling a humorless smile. A smile Artemis had seen many times on his own face…

Speaking of, it was now Artemis's turn. "Fire, always fighting to survive, burning away the bad times… Please Fire, bring to this circle your energy." He only had to raise one finger and the fire at his command lit the burgundy colored candle in front of him. "Fire, I summon you to this circle." This time a red glow took over the circle. The tattoos turned red, and scarlet sparks mingled with the crowd. It might have sounded apocalyptic, but in fact the light created by the dome looked more inviting, like a warm chimney fire after a winter day, rather than a terrifying red sky. The heat and the sound of flickering flames could be felt for a short moment. Then, the dome crept on itself to cover the southern quarter of the circle only.

Everyone's gaze followed Duantia's to the west. "Water," Minerva called. "Always renewed, like the cycle of life, simply everlasting… Please Water, bring to this circle your peace." She lit the candle with an effortless hand gesture and her element was summoned. This time the luminous dome looked like the glass bubble that would cover the underwater city of Atlantis. Even their magic sparks looked like small underwater creature. And as quickly as the dome appeared, it faded and covered only the West part of the circle.

This time, the three fledglings spoke up to summon Earth. "Earth, always there to make us live, a free field for the game of life, make your way through the prophetess! Please Earth, bring your protection to this circle." An emerald dome appeared above the circle when the fledglings pointed towards Aphrodite's green candle to light it. The same phenomenon occurred, the sparks the tattoos and of course, the northern most part of the circle hosted the dome once the element's reaction faded.

Only one element remained… The High Council members were all staring wide-eyed when the fledglings summoned Spirit. "Spirit, always immortal even when our bodies are not, yet your stay our very essence. Make your way here to the Red Warrior! Please Spirit, bring to this circle the essence of your realm." The most brilliant purple light envelopped the circle, blending all of the other colors in something ressembling an aurora borealis. The tattoos of the Magickal Fledglings turned a pure silver color, matching the sparks flowing from their fingertips.

They could all feel the elements mingle and spin as if they were one. Everyone was so wrapped up in the beautiful, magical and intoxicating structure around them… They barely noticed when Silyah, Artemis and Minerva began reciting complex incantations that were told to them by the prophetess, even if Aphrodite looked ever-so-slightly possessed when she started blurting out things she could not even understand. _She is better in Gnommish than Mulch_, contemplated the yound boy as he flashed his sinister smile. His plan worked even better than he ever thought; their elements' reactions to Magick had captivated their audience as much as Opal captivated herself.

The only people whom were still "conscious" were the members of Zoey's circle.

"Twin, this is badshit scary…" Had mouthed Shaunee to her friend. "Do you have any idea of what they are doing?" They both looked at Aphrodite.

"They are saving Z." Answered Damien, whom had seen the twins' exchange. "Help me out," he then said, asking air to make the circle even stronger. The girls summoned their respective elements and a few seconds later three major things happened.

First, Aphrodite and the three special fledglings' incantation was completed.

Second, some vibrant white lightning bolts appeared above the colorful elemental dome and turned a dull gray when they struck Zoey's remains. Her body convulsed on the altar, she had started breathing again…

And third, Neferet arrived, walking as quickly as her onyx colored mermaid gown could allow her. She gracefully made her way towards the circle only to announce that the tables might have turned.

"My consort awoke! A lightning bolt struck him and he awoke! My Erebus is back."

The world seemed to stop for a split-second and while nobody paid attention to the fledglings, they closed the circle, leaving only the illusion of a dome. All according to plan… Or almost…

Zoey sat up in one brisk movement and her eyes opened wide as the first sound she made perfectly matched the "No!" that pierce the air when she shattered. "Kalona," she then said, crawling off the table and after, out of the circle. With all of her strenght, she got on her feet and left. Stark shot a look at the Magickal Fledglings while they pretended that the circle had been broken when Zoey crossed it.

The luminous dome had disappeared and yet, a shimmering veil hovered above the group, the only proof a circle had just been casted.

"Someone must stop her! All Erebus did was protect me and yet, this _child_ holds a grudge towards my consort for killing her human imprint! She will try to get her revenge! Stop this _fledgling_!" Half of the Sons of Erebus followed Neferet's command and the other half looked around to see if the High Council agreed… But it was too late. The seven most powerful vampyres had left with Neferet.

The remaining Sons of Erebus's Warriors led the confused vampyres to their homes on the island.

Almost everything went according to plan.


	11. Chapter Nine, Punishment

**Chapter Nine, Punishment**

**Council Chamber, five minutes after the Full Moon Ritual**

"Neferet," Duantia said, her serious tone sending chills.

"For the last time, I am not Neferet!" she replied, with a voice full of anger and exasperation. "Not anymore…" She added more softly. Somehow, it was the most honest thing she had said in the last few days.

"If you truly are Nyx's vessel on Earth, then you must understand that there are responsibilities coming with the title.

"Are you trying to tell your _Goddess_ what to do? I do n –"

"Do not argue until we are done. As a Goddess you must grant respect to your children, am I right?" Thanatos interrupted. "Now that your consort's soul is back, you will have to do something of him. Even if he is immortal, even if you claim he was protecting you, he killed a man and no one should ever be above the law."

"You want me to punish him? For saving my life?" Neferet's arched one eyebrow in disbelief.

"Don't be ridiculous," continued Duantia. "Heath Luck was a mere human. He could not have harmed you in any way. His death and a useless and cruel one, both for him, his friends and us…" She cleared up the small ounce of sadness in her voice. "We will leave you an hour to figure out this situation."

"Tomorrow, at midnight, everything you might need must be prepared," said Thanatos before leaving the Council Chamber along with every other member of the Council.

"Very good Neferet," whispered a voice inside of her… A voice that seemed to be located at the base of her skull, pressing against her bones, guiding her. "Not only will you get rid of one possible threat tomorrow, but you will also show everyone how powerful you are."

After an hour, the voice had recited an entire plan in Neferet's ear… When Duantia entered the chamber, a devastated "goddess" condemned her immortal consort to a public banishment from her side due to his bad services.

* * *

"So, is there anything else to review before we put the next part of our plan in action?" Asked Silyah to her two telepathic companions. "It is probably our last opportunity to have a private conversation before we go; we better make the best of it."

Artemis nodded slowly. "Everyone has their aliases?" He asked. "My pseudonym shall be Roderick."

Minerva had opted for Morella, while Silyah had decided to take the nickname of Ligeia, a dark homage to a darker poet.

"Have you found some materials that could be useful as disguises, Silyah?" Artemis turned his head towards the dark-haired girl.

"Yes, all the material was gathered a few days ago. I even thought about character designs." Minerva and Artemis leaned forward, ready to listen to Silyah's concept. "Since there are some striking physical resemblances between us, only a minimal amount of makeup and a flat iron would suffice to make us look like triplets, or at least siblings. I will only tell you all of the personality details once the plan begins though because as far as the wardrobe goes, we'll only get to see once we get there." Silyah sighed, remembering all the costumes she had sewn at the last minute, much to her mother's annoyance.

Artemis caught a glimpse of amusement in Silyah's eyes. "Should I be worried about the disguise you choose for us?" The same amusement reflected in the boy's voice. He kept staring in her icy blue eyes until they met his. A ghost of a smile appeared on Silyah's lips.

"I'm sure you have survived through much worst," she said.

"Have you found a location for us to establish ourselves?" Asked Minerva to the Irish boy.

"I think we should pretend to be human tourists during the day – no one here has seen us without our Marks, therefore we have less chances of being recognized if we cover them. For the night, I discovered an area on the island that would be suitable for us to hide," he replied. There was a short silence. The Magickal Fledglings were all going through their mental "to-do" lists.

Silyah passed a hand through her long hair. "I think that's a wrap… We covered everything didn't we?" She asked.

"I believe that we are done for now," said Artemis. "I communicated with our guests after the ritual, they are on their way. Actually, they must have arrived by now, so as soon as we wake up we will have to get to work."

The three fledglings stood quietly for a few minutes, all of them were thinking about the parts they would have to play in History. Silyah was the first one to break the silence.

"It's a heavy responsibility the Goddess placed on our shoulders," she slowly said. "By helping Zoey, by getting rid of Neferet, Opal and Kalona, by being the youngest fledglings ever and by having an affinity for all of the five elements, we will change so many lives. And not only vampire lives, we will also affect humans and fairies. We can't let anything bad happen."

"It is a heavy responsibility but along with Zoey's group and her allies, we are the only ones that can change humanity's fate," Minerva pointed out.

"I cannot wait to contemplate the aftermath," replied the dark-haired girl.

Somewhere in the physical realm alarm clocks began to ring. "Good luck everyone…" Silyah added.

"No, not good luck," Artemis corrected. "Good success."

The dream faded and the fledglings woke up, ready to face what the night was about to bring them.

* * *

A sweet wind brushed against Kalona's spread out wings. He had watched the sky turn from the twilight's gold and pink hues to the blue and black ones of the night from the Capri Castle's balcony. He had spent most of the evening there, mostly to get away from Neferet.

Her attitude changed as her powers grew. The Queen Tsi Sgili had been more demanding and controlling, as if she had forgotten that Kalona could get rid of her in the blink of an eye. _Your domination over the Tsi Sgili won't last for very long though,_ he thought. Neferet had turned into a real creature of evil while Kalona was slowly being weakened by the fledgling priestess, _his A-ya._

The immortal took a deep breath and looked in the Italian sky. Something looked odd in the scenery, but he could not seem to figure out what. He kept gazing in the air above him. It almost appeared to shiver. He blinked a few times. Maybe he was the one shivering. Not once in his lifetime, Kalona had felt as useless.

"Kalona." The immortal did not turn around at the mention of his name; he knew that Neferet was standing in the doorway behind him. "I waited for you all day."

Kalona almost sighed. Did she really think he would join her in her bed after the decisions she had taken?

The Tsi Sgili was now at his side. Tendrils of darkness emanated from her when she slid her arm around his waist. Kalona folded his wings on his back. He was ready to listen to an explanation, but nothing more. "Why have you decided to punish me for something you requested me to do? I killed a man on _your_ command, _you_ won't accept the consequences on you own, and yet, you still want me to fulfill your nights…" He said, his gaze still in the distance. Neferet's dark yet beautiful laughter filled the air.

"Your banishment from my side was only implemented to please the High Council my dear _Erebus._ You have to understand that Nyx Incarnate will not be seen with her consort during one hundred years, however, the Tsi Sgili and her immortal mate, Kalona, have no reasons to be apart." She ran one sharp fingernail against Kalona's muscular arm and moved to his right. She scanned the horizon, searching for the object of Kalona's fixation. The immortal's wings unfurled, he was almost ready to take off. "It's just a small price to pay to be worshipped again," she said placing her hand on her hip, wanting to get Kalona's attention away from the shimmers in the sky. Neferet's words locked Kalona's feet on the ground.

_A small price to pay to be worshipped again…_ The immortal wondered if it truly was what he wanted. The dark part of Kalona, the one that had been the cause of death, rape and tragedies could not agree more with the Tsi Sgili's statement, while the part of him that fought Darkness for his Goddess's love kept on tormenting him. And there was also a grey part to his soul; the small fraction of him that _belonged_ _to A-ya_, that _yearned_ for the Cherokee maiden's comforting touch. To be worshipped by humans and vampyres and yet to spent an eternity at a rogue High Priestess's service… Was that really a small price to pay to replace the lost of Nyx's trust?

"There are a few hours left before the banishment… Let's not waste any minute of them…" Said the Tsi Sgili with an inviting and sensual tone. She spun around, causing the bottom of her silky mermaid gown to swirl and brush against Kalona's legs. The Queen Tsi Sgili headed for her bedroom. Kalona shook his head and finally looked towards Neferet as she left. Her wavy auburn hair flowed behind her as she moved. The cloud of Darkness surrounding her made her look as if she was floating, or gliding, rather than walking. The effect was actually accentuated by her gown, which was hugging her gentle curves in the most exquisite way. She looked just as majestic as she was dangerous.

Kalona looked at the sky once more. He let out a sigh and followed the Tsi Sgili.

* * *

"Fledglings?" Anabelle knocked softly on the door separating the High Priestesses from Artemis's group. Hearing no signs of protest, the France House of Night priestess cracked the door open. "Good morning," she told the three fledglings who were chatting as they were eating their breakfast. Artemis briefly contemplated Anabelle's use of the word "morning." It had not been an entire week since he had been Marked and he was already getting used to the days and nights being turned around. It almost felt natural to reply a "bonjour" back at the Parisian priestess.

"I just came to tell you about today's schedule," she said. The priestess was looking at the delicately printed notes in her agenda when her cell phone rang. She briefly glanced at the screen. Then, her gaze went back to the fledglings. "Well, it seems that our plans just changed. We are required to gather in the Council chamber for a public banishment…" Silyah raised an eyebrow. "Following Heath Luck's murder, the High Council requested that Neferet should deal with her consort and find a way to punish him. She chose banishment," explained Anabelle. Artemis exchanged a quick look with the ladies at his table as the High Priestess continued. "The ceremony will begin in exactly thirty minutes; Grace will come to pick us up when we will have to leave." She smiled and turned on her heels, heading back to her room.

"This is it…" Whispered Minerva as Anabelle left the kitchenette. Artemis was already making calls to make sure that everything was ready. In less than thirty minutes, twenty-eight to be exact, the biggest part of their plan would be put in action.

The fledglings finished eating their breakfast in silence. The atmosphere in the room was now full of anticipation. The clock was ticking way irregularly for the Magickal Fledglings's taste. Long minutes passed and finally, Grace knocked at their door.

On their way to the Council chamber, Grace stopped to pick up Zoey's group, though the young priestess was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, the group walked quietly towards the chapel. The Red warrior, Stark, had a worried look on his face when he stepped in the chamber.

The fledglings (and the human prophetess) took their seats in the front row, shortly followed by many vampyres. When the doors of the chapel closed, there was still no sign of Zoey Redbird.

Neferet and Kalona then arrived in the room, passing by the side door rather than the front ones, leading the way for the High Council. The Council members sat down while the Tsi Sgili and her consort were asked to stand beside the first throne, in front of the room. Duantia looked at the audience, requesting silence. She appeared as if she was about to say something, when all of the sudden, the chapel's massive doors flew open.

Everyone's eyes turned towards the young girl under the doorway. The fledgling priestess looked as if she had not slept in age, she seemed sad and slightly confused, which was understandable considering what she had just went through. The only noise that could be heard at that moment was the sound of Zoey's footsteps as she walked towards the front row of the chapel to sit at the empty place at Stark's side. The warrior's expression softened, but worry still tinted his eyes.

Duantia nodded respectfully at Zoey. "Merry Meet everyone…" Said the High Council leader while Thanatos rose from her throne.

"Before we begin with the ceremony, I would like to commemorate Heath Luck's death by a minute of silence." Thanatos's dark gaze went to Kalona as she spoke. Of one hand gesture, she made the audience rise up. Everyone but Kalona was now standing; the immortal decided to close his eyes and kneel during the quiet moment of remembrance.

After the sixty seconds had passed, it was Duantia's turn to speak. "No one will ever be above the law," she began. "Not even immortals… The High Council judged that Mr. Luck's murder was barbaric and not necessary, therefore, a punishment had to be organized." She turned to Neferet, giving her the right to explain her decision.

"I did find a suitable punishment for my consort…" Proclaimed the Tsi Sgili. "Erebus will be banned from my side for one hundred years, because of his bad service."

Duantia nodded. "Let us move outside, under the eye of our Goddess, Nyx, for the banishment ceremony."

Sons of Erebus opened the side door of the chamber. Neferet and Kalona were the first ones to leave the chapel, escorted by the High Council. Being seated in the first row right beside the door, Artemis, Minerva and Silyah were the next ones to go outside.

They approached the field in which Neferet, Kalona and the High Council were now standing. They kept a reasonable distance between them and the next group exiting the chapel and when they knew that no one was watching, they vanished into the night.

When they eventually reached a shimmering area hidden beneath shadows, a quiet but familiar voice greeted them.

"Ah, great!" The voice sighed. "Now they can use shields, like us."

"Actually," Artemis began, "vampyres refer to this technique as _cloaking_, dear Captain Short." The boy flashed his trademark smile at his best friend as everyone appeared into view.

The elf had to fight really hard against the urge to throw her arms around Artemis. Instead, she looked at him and smiled. "I was beginning to miss you, Arty!"

"Me too, Holly," the Irish boy replied.


End file.
